The Government of São Paulo has 6 million reais out of a total of 10 million reais for actions to combat violence against women, from the Secretariat for Policies in Favor of Women. The department is the one that received the least resources under the administration of Governor Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans), in 2025.
The 10 million reais intended to combat violence against women constitutes a budgetary supplement. The budget was updated to R$8.7 million, of which only R$2.6 million was committed, that is, reserved by the government to be paid.
The budget restriction comes at a time when rates of femicide in the state and capital are rising, while newly released polls highlight Tarcísio’s difficulty winning the women’s vote. The head of the State Executive recognizes the current problem as an “epidemic of femicide”.
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Another action of the ministry that may have an unused amount is that aimed at generating financial autonomy for women. The action also received an additional 10 million reais. The value was updated to BRL 6.8 million, of which BRL 1.8 million was committed, leaving BRL 5 million unallocated.
The government should commit this resource by the end of the month, at the risk of letting the R$11 million allocated to women expire in 2025, adding the R$6 million intended for the fight against violence and the R$5 million intended for female entrepreneurship.
The budget of the Secretariat for Women’s Policies this year amounted to 9.5 million reais. After the budget supplements, the department had BRL 36.2 million, but could stop using about a third of this amount.
At Metropolisesthe secretariat indicated that “resources for the execution of these policies, in the areas of security, health and socio-economic development of women, are guaranteed in the budgets of the responsible departments and are added to the amendments of the budget law approval process and to the obligatory and voluntary amendments”. (see note below).
54% drop in the department’s budget
The scenario of budget cuts mobilizes women parliamentarians in the state. The office of State Deputy Andréa Werner (PSB-SP) shows that the budget of the secretariat could be reduced by 54%, comparing the updated allocation of the department and that proposed by the government in the Draft Annual Finance Law (PLOA) 2026. The current 36.2 million BRL would fall to 16.5 million BRL, a reduction of 54%.
However, by comparing the texts of the PLOA of 2025 with that of 2026, without counting the obligatory modifications and additions, we see an increase of 70.4% in the initial resources available for the department during the year.
Audit request
Federal Deputy Erika Hilton (PSOL-SP) has decided to sue the Court of Auditors of the State of São Paulo (TCE-SP).
According to the parliamentarian, the State lacks personnel to care for women, does not have multidisciplinary care, nor a results evaluation system. She also denounced the fact that São Paulo would not respect the federal law which determines the 24-hour operation of women’s defense police stations (DDM).
“Of the 141 DDMs in São Paulo, only 18 operate without interruption. In March, only 7 units had their opening hours extended. At the current rate, it would take the state more than 35 years to comply with federal legislation. As a stopgap measure, the government created 162 24-hour DDM online rooms, 116 of which were installed in municipalities that already have a police station physical,” criticized Erika.
What the government says
The São Paulo government emphasized that it was this administration that created a specific secretariat for women’s policies and justified the low budget by the “transversal path” of action, “by articulating policies with other departments, including the actions of Public Security.”
“Resources for the implementation of these policies, in the areas of security, health and socio-economic development of women, are guaranteed in the budgets of the responsible departments and are added to the amendments currently being approved to the budget law and to the mandatory and voluntary amendments.
Measures to protect women are a priority for the current administration of the State of São Paulo. Since 2023, protection measures, support actions and reporting and reception channels have been expanded, guaranteeing uninterrupted care for victims. The fight against violence against women is inter-secretariat and involves actions and budgetary allocations from the departments of public security, health, economic and social development,” explained the department.
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